Does a transfer into a LISA get a bonus?

pink_pirlie

ellpooty wrote: »

If I complete on a property before the bonus is paid in, do I miss out on the bonus or is there some sort of mechanism for adding the bonus early in the event of completion?

I have the same predicament except we are going to be completing in April so definitely before the bonus is paid for the 2018/19 £4K and possibly before the bonus is paid for 17/18.

I haven’t been able to get a response on this question from anyone.

I am now thinking that even if we cannot claim the bonus towards the purchase price we can take the bonus out and suffer the 25% tax on it or leave it until retirement... that is still better than not getting anything at all.

eskbanker

pink_pirlie wrote: »

ellpooty wrote: »

If I complete on a property before the bonus is paid in, do I miss out on the bonus or is there some sort of mechanism for adding the bonus early in the event of completion?

I have the same predicament except we are going to be completing in April so definitely before the bonus is paid for the 2018/19 £4K and possibly before the bonus is paid for 17/18.

I haven’t been able to get a response on this question from anyone.

Not sure who you'll have been asking but I imagine that the lack of knowledge will largely be due to the fact that no LISA bonuses have been claimed and paid yet, and that this edge case apparently isn't one addressed in the scheme rules!

However, my strong suspicion is that there'll be no leeway, as the bonus claim process for LISAs (unlike HTB ISAs) will presumably be a heavily-automated bulk activity for every account credited with a contribution during the period, which for the April 2018 period will be every account held by each provider. Coupled with the fact that this is the first time round, it would be a bit of a long shot that the April bonuses will appear particularly early, but this obviously leaves a gamble about whether to cut your losses and withdraw before 5 April (to avoid the withdrawal penalty), or not....